Shuttle.



PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

M. LAUTERBAGH.

SHUTTLE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1907.

ATTORNE 1 5 MAX LAUTERBAOH, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

SHUTTLE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed April 10, 1907. Serial No. 367,317.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MAX LAUTERBAOH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Shuttle, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sewing machine shuttles of that general class especially designed for use in connection with machines employing hard wax thread such as machines for sewing harness, leather and other heavy material.

The object of the invention is to provide a race way having a shuttle mounted for rota tion therein and adapted to engage the needle thread thereby to form a lock stitch.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a shuttle having a laterally extending guide flange adapted to engage the race way to assist in preventing accidental displacement of said shuttle.

A further object is to form the shuttle with a pivoted top or cap piece so that the bobbin may be readily positioned within or removed from the shuttle.

A still further object of the invention is generallyto improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and eflflciency.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification: Figure 1'is an end elevation of a sewing machine shuttle and race way constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation partly in section of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the shuttle detached. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing the lock stitch formed by the improved shuttle.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The improved shuttle forming the subject matter of the present invention is principally designed for use in connection with sewing machines employing hard wax thread such as harness sewing machines and by way of illustration is shown applied to a harness sewing machine of the ordinary construction in which 5 designates the frame of the machine and 6 the driving shaft.

Secured to or formed integral with the frame 5 is a plate 7 having a circular opening formed therein and provided with a laterally extending annular flange 8 constituting a race way in which is mounted for rotation the improved shuttle 9. Secured to the plate 7 by screws or similar fastening devices 10 is a flat ring 11 the free edge of which over-hangs the flange or race way 8 and forms a guide or keeper for the shuttle.

The shuttle 9 is curved to conform to the walls of the race way 8 and is provided with a laterally extending rib 12 which bears against the annular member or ring 11 and thus locks the shuttle within the race way. The exterior walls of the shuttle 9 are curved or rounded so as to form a smooth unobstructed surface for the bobbin thread and thus prevent the thread from catching on the shuttle and becoming twisted or otherwise tangled when the shuttle is rotated. The rear end of the shuttle 9 is formed with a flat extension 13 one side of which is curved or rounded at 14 for engagement with the peripheral wall 9 of the flange 8, said extension forming a support for one of the radial arms 15 of the rotary driving member 16.

The driving member 16 is secured to and mounted for rotation with the shaft 6 so that when the shaft 6 is operated the arm 15 by engagement with the adjacent end of the shuttle will impart a corresponding rotary movement to the latter.

The shuttle 9 is provided with an interior chamber 17for the reception of the bobbin 18, the latter being j ournaled in suitable bearings 19 formed in the opposite walls of the chamber 17, as shown. The chamber 17 is normally closed by a pivoted section or cap 20 having an opening 21 formed therein for the reception of the thread 22, said opening being disposed at substantially right angles to the longitudinal plane of the shuttle, as best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. The cover or cap 20 is hinged or pivoted at 23 and is provided at its free end with a notch or recess 24 adapted to receive the inclined or beveled end 25 of a spring catch 26 whereby the cap or cover may be locked in closed position.

The driving member 16 in addition to the radial arm 15 is also provided with auxiliary arms 27 and 28 one of which bears against and is curved to conform to the adjacent wall of the shuttle while the opposite arm of said member extends beneath the ring 11 and bears against the flange 8 thus holding the shuttle against the walls of said race way.

When motion is imparted to the driving shaft 6 the driving device 16 will cause the shuttle to rotate in the direction of the arrow indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings so that the pointed terminal 29 of said shuttle will enter the needle loop 30, the thread forming the loop 30 together with the needle 31 being fed through an opening 32 formed in the contracted throat 33 of the plate or'race way, as shown.

When the shuttle passes through the loop 30 the bobbin thread 22 will slip off the smooth walls of the shuttle at the heel end thereof thus permitting the point of the shuttle to engage the succeeding loop in the needle thread at the next revolution of the shuttle. As the shuttle successively engages the needle loop 30 it forms the lock stitch illustrated at 34 in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

Attention is here called to the fact that one side of the shuttle is provided with a flat face for engagement with the correspondingly flat face of the flange 8, thus forming an extended bearing surface for the shuttle and permitting said. shuttle and driving member to be compactly assembled within the casing and locked against accidental displacement. It will also be noted that by forming one side of the shuttle with a flat bearing surface the arms of the driving member are free to rotate on the flange 8 with the body portion of the driving member disposed in alinement with the flat bearing surface of the shuttle and with the flat ring 11 engaging the rib 12 of the shuttle thereby to assist in preventing accidental displacement of said shuttle.

If desired, the face of the race way may be covered with 'a casing or housing 35 which bears against the plate 7 and is secured thereto by bolts or similar fastening devices,

' as shown.

From the foregoing description it is thought that the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with a supporting frame having a laterally extending flange constituting a race way, of a shuttle mounted for rotation on the flange and provided with a laterallyextending rib, an annular member secured to the supporting frame and having a flat side for engagement with the rib for locking the shuttle within the race way, said shuttle having one side thereof provided with a flat bearing surface and one end formed with a pointed terminal, the opposite end of the shuttle being provided with an extension disposed in aline ment with and adapted to bear against the flan e of the race way, and a driving member iaving radially disposed arms one of which bears against the heel of the shuttle at said extension for rotating the shuttle, the other arms of the driving member being disposed in contact with and mounted for rotation on the flange of the race way.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination with a supporting frame having a laterally extending flange constituting a race way, there being a needle receiving opening formed in the supporting frame and communicating with the race way, a flat ring secured to the supporting frame and over-hanging the flange, a hollow shuttle mounted for rotation on the flange and having one side thereof provided with a flat bearing .surface and its opposite side curvedlaterally, a rib extended laterally from the flat bearing surface and engaging the ring, a pivoted section forming a part of the curved side of the shuttle and having an opening formed therein, a bobbin mounted for rotation within the shuttle and having a thread coiled thereon and extended through the opening in the pivoted section, means for locking the pivoted section in closed position, and a driving member provided with a plurality of arms one of which bears against the heel ofthe shuttle, the other arms of the driving member being disposed in contact with and mounted for rotation on the flange.

3. In a sewing machine, the combination with a supporting frame having a laterally extending flange constituting a race way, of a shuttle mounted for rotation on the flange and provided with an interior chamber, said shuttle being formed with a lateral rib, a ring secured to the supporting frame and overhanging the flange for engagement with the rib, a pivoted section carried by the shuttle and forming a part thereof, there being a locking notch formed in the free end of the pivoted section, a spring catch carried by the shuttle and adapted to engage the notch in the pivoted section for locking the latter in closed position, a bobbin mounted for rotation in the shuttle and provided with a thread, the free end of which extends through an opening in the pivoted section, and a driving member provided with a plurality of radially disposed arms one of which bears against the heel of the shuttle, the remaining arms of the driving member being disposed in contact with and mounted for rotation on the flange of the race way.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MAX LAUTERBACH.

Witnesses:

W. J. EASTON, B ssm MADDOX. 

